1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an onsite integrated production factory and particularly to an onsite integrated factory provided with an electric power generating means utilizing natural energy and comprising an electrolysation plant, an ethanol plant, a vegetable plant and a fish/shellfish-culturing plant, which are integrated on a site.
2. Description of the Related Art
In every nation of the world, the reconstruction of industries such as energies, caustic soda and light metals which determine the national power is a matter of urgency. In the Russian Summit held at Sanktopeterburg in 2006, the speech of the leader of each nation emphasizes a plan for controlling the consumption of crude petroleum and refers to atomic energy, natural gas and sun energy and the like as the urgent measures taken for the post-petroleum energy. A desire to rely on natural energy without using fossil fuels is growing greatly. The power generation of natural energy includes those derived from, for example, wind power, water power (tidal power), wave power, sun light, sun heat and geothermal energy. Among these power generations, the wind power generation has a smaller installation area than other natural energy power generations since the windmill can be installed vertically and also can be utilized day and night.
Patent References 1 and 2 shown below disclose that wind power generation is utilized for the power of a pressure pump used to treat untreated water and sea water in reverse osmosis plants. Also, it is disclosed in the following Patent Reference 3 that wind power generation is used for the power of the pump used to draw sea water with the intention of desalination of sea water. It is also disclosed in the following Patent Reference 4 to make use of wind power generation as the power for producing hydrogen by the electrodialysis of fresh water obtained from equipment for desalination of sea water.
Tidal electric power generation has higher energy efficiency. The energy (W) obtained from wind power, tidal power and the like is given by the equation: W=AρV3/2 (where, A is a flow-receiver area, ρ is the density of the fluid and V is a flow rate). The density of air is 1.2 kg/m3 whereas the density of water is 1025 kg/m3. Therefore, if the flow of wind is changed to the flow of water, an energy which is 854 times that obtained in the case of the flow of wind can be obtained. There are, for example, the Kuroshio current (the Japan Current) and Tsushima Current around Japan. The Kuroshio current flowing through the Tokara straight, the Ashizuri Promontory, Muroto Promontory, Shiono Promontory, the Island of Miyake and the Island of Mikura is 250 km in width and 1000 m in depth and has a flow speed of 0.3 to 2 m/sec and is therefore suitable for a tidal power generation source. Because the output of a waterwheel is proportional to the 3rd power of the current, the tidal current power generation is attractive.
There is a tendency to think the foregoing fluid energies such as wind power and water flow power to be the kinds of energy sources which are mild to the global environment and are free from the exhaustion of resources. However, these energies are all limited by natural and geographical conditions and it is difficult to obtain desirable generated output depending on the meteorological conditions and places. In light of this, many methods are proposed in which these energies are utilized on the ocean where plenty of wind power energy or fluid energy such as a tidal current and ocean current is present. Patent Reference 5 shown below discloses that the generated power obtained by wind power generation to draw deep ocean water up to a pool floated and installed on the ocean. Patent Reference 6 shown below discloses that wind power generation is used for electrolytic desalination of sea water. Patent Reference 7 shown below discloses that power generation facilities utilizing natural energies such as wind power generation, wave power generation and ocean temperature difference power generation are installed on a large floating structure installed on the ocean. The following Patent References 8 and 9 disclose that the water desalinated by the power obtained by steam turbine power generation attained by sun energy, wave power generation and wind power generation is electrolyzed to produce hydrogen and oxygen gas, on the movable floating structure on the sea. The windmill installed on the deck of the drifting on the sea or floating vessels is preferably a non-directional type regardless of wind direction. The inventors of the present invention disclose a vertical axis windmill and water wheel that draw power from the both energies of wind power and tidal power in the following Patent References 10 and 11.
In Sweden, according to Non-patent Reference 1 shown below, there are the following descriptions. Specifically, the post-atomic power generation policy that atomic power generation is abolished step by step is maintained and high targets are stated as to the introduction of wind power generation. In 1970, the percentage of the dependency of energy demand on petroleum reached 70%. After that, a post-petroleum policy is promoted with the oil crisis, with the result that the percentage of the dependency on petroleum is reduced to the order of 30%. There is also the description that particularly, the percentage of the dependency of heating and hot-water supply in the public welfare section on petroleum has been already reduced to 10% with the spread of a regional heat supply system and with the progress in the conversion of fuel into biomass energy. Then, there is also the description that the ratio of bio-ethanol (5%) to be mixed in gasoline will be increased in a few years, with the result that the use of automobiles using, as the fuel, E85 containing 85% of ethanol or bio-gas obtained by the fermentation of biomass are spread. It is fresh in our memories that there was a sudden rise in grain prices as soon as, on January, 2007, Bush, President of the United States came out with the policy fixed to produce bioethanol by the fermentation of corns to thereby replace 20% of gasoline with the bioethanol by 2017. Japanese government also came out with the plan fixed to increase the production of bio-ethanol up to 6000000 kl by 2030. In Non-patent Reference 2 shown below, it is disclosed from RITE and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. that the gene of Corynebacterium is recombined to convert vegetable fibers such as celluloses into sugars, thereby producing bio-ethanol from wood chips, weeds, rice straws and wheat straws which are not used as foods. In Non-patent Reference 3 shown below, there are descriptions that bacteria which ferments sugars and starches extracted from squeezed residues of sugar canes and wood chips to produce ethanol is increased to 100 times that of usual cases. Patent Reference 12 shown below discloses a method of producing ethanol in which NADH (nicotine amide/adenine/dinucleotide reduction type) is added in a reaction medium from the outside under the ethanol production bacterial enzyme reaction condition to react the ethanol production bacteria under the presence of the compound, thereby producing ethanol production bacteria in the reaction medium, followed by collecting the produced ethanol.
Non-patent Reference 4 shown below reveals that the Japanese technologies used desalinate sea water by using a reverse osmosis membrane are advanced into all parts of the world. It is, at present, estimated that about 1.1 billion people can utilize water insufficiently in the world and that a shortage of industrial water is a cause of a hindrance to economic growth in China and the Middle East. For this, in these regions, there is a rush to construct a sea water desalinating plant. However, the construction of sea water desalination plant has the purpose of extracting fresh water, so that the brine of sea water having a salt content of about 3% is thrown into the sea as waste fluid at present.
The production facilities for desalinating sea water and for extracting metals, such as magnesium, dissolved in sea water are placed in limited areas such as the vicinity of thermal power stations in coastal areas and these metals dissolved in sea water have been called fossils of power generation like aluminum so far. As to, particularly, the production of aluminum, as shown in Non-patent Reference 5 shown below, 99% of new ores is dependent on the import in Japan and only Kamahara factory (Shizuoka prefecture) of Nippon Light Metal Co., Ltd. having a private power generation plant carries out the refining of new ores. Metal sodium is the same to the above and there is only Nihongi factory (Niigata prefecture) of NIPPON SODA Co., Ltd. as a manufacturing factory in Japan. About 1700 ton of metal sodium was used in the fast breeder reactor “Monju” in Japan and was all imported. On the other hand, caustic soda industries using salts as starting material are fundamental industries as well as sulfuric acid industries and the chemical industry in Japan and the chemical industry is started from both industries. According to the statistics for fiscal 2005, the throughput of caustic soda in Japan is 4550000 ton showing a satisfactory progress. However, because 100% of the raw salts is dependent on imported salts, a half or more of the imported price is occupied by the cost of transportation. Moreover, because large electric power is required for electrolysis to produce caustic soda from this salt, the profit of fiscal 1999 in caustic soda business department is a deficit of five hundred million, showing that caustic soda/chlorine industries in Japan will lose their international competitive power if they are not improved. This is found from the fact that the working power per ton of a product is as large as about 2500 kW as shown by Non-patent Reference 6. As measures taken for this, there are problems of urgency concerning the promotions of the shift of electric power to midnight power, new construction or extension of a private power plant and development of a large-scale troopships. In Japan, the mercury method is the mainstream of the salt electrodialysis method until the 1955s. However, an overall conversion to the diaphragm method and ion exchange membrane method was completed by June, 1986. However, as shown in Non-patent Reference 7 shown below, the mercury method which is a simple production method and is capable of producing high-purity caustic soda is scarcely abandoned and as shown in Non-patent Reference 5 shown below, the latest world trend shows that the mercury method still occupies the mainstream of the production method.
With regard to the deep ocean water, the term “deep ocean water” according to Non-patent Reference 8 is sea water which is distributed in deep sea at a depth of 200 m or more and has physical and chemical characteristics different from those of surface water, and means the deep sea water (sub-deep sea water in the North Atlantic and deep sea water in the South Atlantic Pole) which is distributed in deep ocean water and formed in two places (offshore of Greenland in North Atlantic Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean). These deep sea waters move around the oceans in all over the world over 2000 years by the thermal salt circulation and have important relations with the climate of the earth at intervals of 1000 year unit. The physical nature of each deep sea water is as follows: it has low temperatures, a high salt content and a high density and is not almost affected by the atmosphere, so that it is more reduced in change than surface water. As to the chemical characteristics of the deep sea water, sunlight insufficiently reaches the deep sea water, so that no phytoplankton grows and the deep sea water is scarcely mixed with the surface sea water, so that it is lacking in dissolved oxygen. Also, the deep sea water is rich in minerals and nutrient salts because various materials drop from the surface for a long term. There is the case where this sea water rises to the surface in a specific area of sea. This area becomes a sea area having very high biological productivity and is therefore good fisheries. An attempt is made to make use of the deep sea water for culture industries by utilizing such characteristics that the deep sea water is rich in nutrient salts and is very reduced in germs of various sorts. Also, studies are made as to applications to agriculture, applications to fermentation fields and power generation utilizing a difference in temperature between deep sea water and surface water and the like. It is said that particularly in fermented food fields such as liquor, soy sauce and breads, the use of deep sea water brings about such an effect that it promotes fermentation, improves the taste and increases the yield of alcohols in sake. In the case of, particularly, sake, it is disclosed that it has been found that deep ocean water limits the negative action of the yeast to activate the gene important for fermentation and also disclosed that a mechanism which enables the production of sake having good flavor and good taste is scientifically clarified at the gene level through joint research with an enterprise in Kochi prefecture in Japan. Also, there are the following descriptions in Non-patent Reference 9 shown below. Specifically, ocean bacteria acarioculios living in sea water at a depth of 100 m or deeper in a region extending from the tropical region to the South Atlantic Pole undergoes photosynthesis when irradiated with the near-infrared rays having a wavelength of 700 to 800 nm besides the visual rays having a wavelength of 400 to 700 nm which are adaptable to normal chlorophyll so that the synthetic efficiency is increased by 5% and is therefore promising as an absorber of carbon dioxide. Although about 20 billion ton of carbon dioxide has been absorbed every year by the photosynthesis of algae or the like in the sea so far, the above discovery results in additional absorption of about twenty million ton of carbon dioxide, referring to the possibility of the absorption of a larger amount of carbon dioxide in the sea. Patent Reference 13 shown below discloses that carbon dioxide in a vegetable factory is fixed by an artificial moss young seedling grown in a solution, to make it possible to reduce carbon dioxide. Patent Reference 14 shown below discloses that deep sea water is pumped using a windmill as a power source and is then discharged in the surface water to make a fishery. Patent Reference 15 shown below discloses that deep sea water is likewise pumped by the power of a windmill and is then discharged in the surface water to make an ocean farm. Patent Reference 16 shown below discloses that deep sea water is likewise pumped using a windmill as a power source and a holding tank is prepared to hold the deep sea water in the sea for a fixed period of time to make a fishery. Patent Reference shown 17 below discloses that deep sea water is used to produce a beer.
The above temperature-difference power generation using deep ocean water means a method in which utilizing a difference in temperature between surface ocean water heated by sun heat and cold deep sea water at a depth of 100 m or more which the sun light does not reach, a volatile medium such as Freon and ammonia is used for heat exchange to vaporize by the warm surface ocean water, thereby rotating a turbine to generate power. Patent Reference 18 shown below discloses temperature-difference power generation using deep ocean water and surface ocean water. Patent Reference 19 shown below discloses that deep sea water for temperature-difference power generation is pumped by a storage pump driven by wind power. As to a report referring to the utilization of a thermionic power generation element to the temperature-difference power generation, Patent Reference 20 shown below discloses a production method in which a thermoelement subjected to temperature-difference power generation has a resistance to vibration and impact. Patent Reference 21 shown below discloses a method of producing a portable small thermionic power generation element for temperature-difference power generation. This thermionic power generation element (thermoelement) is called a Pertier element based on the fact that when different types of semiconductors are joined to flow current, heat is generated at one junction and heat is absorbed at another junction. This means that the heat absorbed at one part is released at the other part, wherein if the direction of the current is reversed, the heat generation part and the heat absorption part are reversed. Also, when the both junctions are made to have temperatures different from each other, a potential difference is created, and this works as a temperature-difference power generating element. Non-patent Reference 10 shown below discloses that the inventors of this patent application of this case has made a device for measuring the thermal constant of a rock sample, wherein a sinusoidal wave d.c. voltage is applied to the above thermoelement such that the potential of the thermoelement is changed from plus potential to minus potential to change a temperature difference periodically and the change in heat is given to a rock sample. Patent Reference 22 shown below discloses a device that cools a laser mirror by bringing one side of a thermoelement into close contact with the laser mirror and by flowing d.c. current across the thermoelement in the condition that the other is cooled by cooling water. Non-patent Reference 11 discloses that one side of the thermoelement is heated to 500° C. or less and the other is heated to 1000° C. or less and the obtained temperature difference is utilized in a thermionic power generation element.
Even in Japan in which the self-support of foods could be relatively procured, the aging of producers, a labor shortage and the like cause an increase in the import of vegetables. China having a huge population is changed to a food-importing country during the course of its economical development and industrialization. Also, in North Europe in winter very decreased in hours of sunshine, a few green vegetables are seen on a table. In the current agriculture relying on natural energy, techniques obtained by drawing on one's resources every district as called right crop for right land have been accumulated. However, in these days of threatening of dangers from a world-wide population increase and food shortage, possible agricultural right lands must be utilized by using proper methods which limit the damages to the natural environment to the minimum. These measures are, however, limited by production area and are dependent on climate. Looking at Non-patent Reference 12 shown below and the home page of Plant Factory Laboratory, a vegetable factory is regarded as “a periodical vegetable production system utilizing high technologies such as environmental control and automation”. Also, it is also described that in the vegetable factory, a vegetable culturing environment, that is, temperature, the quantity of light, and the charges of carbon dioxide, a fertilizer is controlled by a computer to thereby automatically produce crops without any labor regardless of climate. Patent Reference 23 described below discloses that a plant body is grown from a seedling by applying light including near-infrared light relatively in growth period and by applying light reduced in infrared light in the date of ripening to thereby hasten the proper time of harvesting. Patent Reference 24 shown below discloses moisture-proof type lighting equipment that reflects only visible rays so that it can be used for a long period of time even under a high-temperature and high-humidity environment as a photosynthetic light source. Patent Reference 25 shown below discloses that a fuel cell is used for the electric power of a vegetable factory and electric power is supplied to power consumption subjects by solar power generation and wind power generation. It is also disclosed in Patent Reference 26 shown below that a fertilizer blended with a bittern of deep ocean water is supplied to vegetables.
An international conference on cultured fishes was held in the City of Kobe on Jan. 22, 2007. According to Non-patent Reference 13 shown below, Amami Island has many intricate gulfs and has such a mild climate that sea temperature is not dropped to 20° C. or less all the year round. It is said that industrial officers gather here for culturing tunas. It is natural that sea areas free from, for example, the generation of a red tide are selected as fisheries. According to the State of the World as Non-patent Reference 14 shown below, a huge “dead zone” in which neither fish nor ocean organism can exist occurs in the Gulf of Mexico in every summer. This phenomenon occurs from the reason that marine organisms cannot exist because the level of the concentration of oxygen dissolved in sea water is very low. There are 146 similar oxygen-deficient sea areas in the world, wherein the oxygen-deficient sea area occurs most frequently in a place where water temperature is mild and such an area is centered on the offshore of East Coast of the United State and the seas in Europe. However, it is said that this phenomenon is observed in each coastal offshore of China, Japan, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. The reason why oxygen-deficient sea areas occur in these coastal areas and fishes and other living bodies die is that phytoplankton and algae are abnormally generated by a stimulation from excessively concentrated nitrogen and phosphorous contained in a fertilizer when this fertilizer is thrown into rivers and sea. When this phytoplankton is dead, it sinks to the bottom of the sea, and is decayed and decomposed. Because whole oxygen around the area is consumed during the course of the above process, a low-oxygen area is produced, so said in the above Reference. Almost all ocean organisms cannot live in the low-oxygen area. Movable fishes and other moveable organisms can be saved only if they leave the oxygen-deficient area. However, there is no time enough for Crustacea and the like to leave the area and Crustacea and the like choke to death. Further, one of the main reasons why the offshore culturing of fishes is prospering is that nutrients are accumulated in coastal areas. To remove this defect, it is a key for the solution of the problem to reduce water pollution caused by the discharged nutrients to thereby restore the function of ecological systems. The Straits of Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden are suffered from a low-oxygen condition, abnormal development of plankton and massive death of fishes after nineteen seventies. In 1986, the Denmark government is touched off by the bankruptcy of lobster fishery in Norway and primarily reduces effluents from a drainage treating station and from industries, to reduce the phosphorous content in water by 80% and to restore coastal damp areas, thereby decreasing the amount of fertilizers to be used in farms. It is reported that the proliferation of plankton came to a stop by this measures, leading to an increase in the amount of oxygen in water.
Nowadays, there are three ocean wind power generation projects which are advanced in Japan. Among these projects, according to Non-patent Reference 15 shown below, a system using the power generated by a windmill to generate hydrogen is adopted in National Institute for Environmental Studies and National Maritime Research Institute and a system transmitting the power generated by the windmill to the land as it is adopted in The University of Tokyo and The Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated. The system adopted in National Institute for Environmental Studies is based on the plan of a non-mooring system sailing type wind power generation plant on the deep-ocean and is forwarded based on a five-year plan from 2003. In a trial calculation, 288000 windmills will be required and the necessary area will be 124000 km2, when a 5 MW (rotor diameter: 120 m) windmill is assumed as the windmill, on the premise that the operation rate of the equipment is 25%, hydrogen obtained on the ocean is transmitted to the land to consume the hydrogen by a fuel cell and that, in this case, the hydrogen conversion efficiency is 50% and the energy efficiency of the fuel cell is 60%.
The system adopted in National Maritime Research Institute is a mooring system floating type wind power generation system in which a mooring type floating body (length: 187 m and width: 60 m) is installed on the sea near the shore at a surface depth of 100 to 200 m where no fishery right is created, to carry out wind power generation. Two windmills are installed on one floating body. As the windmill, one having a rated output of 5 MW (rotor diameter: 120 m) is assumed and sea water is directly electrolyzed to produce hydrogen. However, in its immediate plan, sea water is desalinated and the resulting water is electrolyzed to produce hydrogen. Furthermore, this hydrogen is reacted with CO2 transported from the land to convert these compounds into methane. The obtained methane is liquefied or is made into compressed gas, and the obtained liquid or gas is transported to the land. Actual data of wind conditions indicates that the sea area where the annual utilization factor of the equipment is 40% is four places, that is, the west coast of Hokkaido, offshore of Tohoku of Japan Sea, offshore of Boso and offshore of Izu, and these areas having a total of 15000 km2 correspond to the above sea area. The wind power generation equipment in which one floating body has an output of 10 MW generates a total annual power generation of 35,040 MWh, making it possible to produce about 835 ton of hydrogen a year (conversion efficiency: 99%). The above hydrogen can be made to produce about 1,650 ton of methane (conversion efficiency: 99%). This corresponds to the amount of fuel to be used for about 4,300 cars covering a running distance of 10000 km in one year. Because the mechanization reaction of hydrogen is an exothermic reaction, a heat of 6.94×106 kWh is produced. This produced heat is utilized to generate electricity by using a steam power generator to reuse the obtained electricity as the power for electrolysis. In a trial calculation, the construction cost per floating body is about 4.9 billion Yen, and the cost of electricity is 11.7 Yen/kWh for 30 years of amortization period.
The system adopted in The University of Tokyo and The Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated is a mooring system floating type ocean wind power generation system on the sea near the shore. It is intended to carry out an operation of a floating body type ocean wind power generation at a place about 10 km apart from the offshore of the Pacific Ocean in Kanto district, wherein the evaluation of wind conditions on the ocean, the development of the floating body and economical evaluation of the equipment and the like will be made in fiscal 2005 to 2006. Three windmills each having a rated output of 2.4 MW (rotor diameter: 92 m) will be constructed on one floating body, wherein the distance between the windmills is 180 m, and the floating body is constituted of a fundamental floating body made of RC, connecting members made of steel pipes and tension cables. The mooring will be furnished at a windmill tower and four places in the center part.